cliff negotiations which are ongoing. republican senators have spoken to people in the white house today. this is no serious way to negotiate out here on the senate floor. at the end, the republican leader is complaining because president obama wants the rich to pay their fair share. and as usual, republicans are defending the rich, holding tax cuts for middle class hostage. at the first of the year, unless we work something out, the taxes will go up for people making less than $250,000 a year, an average of $2,200 each -- not per family -- each person. the senate has already passed the centerpiece of president obama's offer. and his offer has always been the same. we are not going to go through the same thing we've gone through here for years where we lay out different ways to cut spending, and there's never any revenue. the president has made it very, very clear. we have already passed the president's proposal. that is to make sure that people making less than $250,000 a year are not burdened with $2,200 each after the